Excavating-machine.



M. G. BUNNELL.

EXCAVATING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 2. 1908.

1 1 59, 173. Patented Nov. 2, 1915.

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M. G. BUNNELL.

EXCAVATING MACHINE. APPUCATION FILED SEPT. 2. 1908.

1,1 59,1'73. I Patentd Nov. 2, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- HTTO/PNEYS COLUMBIA PLANDLIRAPH (20., WASHINGTON, n.c.

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MORTON BUNNELL 0F GHICAGQ J SIGNQR T0 FREDERICK o. AUSTIN, on CHICAGO,ILLINOIS. I s I v EXGAVATING-MACHINE.

ama -0v; 2, 1915-.

Application filed September 2, 190's. Seria1No. 451,297.

To'all whom it may concern:

Be'it known that I, MORTON Gr. BUNNELL, a citizen of the United Statesof America, and resident of Chicago, Cook county, Illinois, haveinvented-a certain new and useful Improvement in Excavating-Machines, ofwhich the following is a specification.

My invention relates to excavating machinery in general, but moreparticularly to machines for making ditches or trenches.

Generally stated, therefore, the object of my invention is the provisionof an improved excavating and ditching machine.

A special object is the provision of a machine adapted more particularlyfor making ditches or trenches on a hill-side, which obviously involvessome problems and difiiculties not true of ordinary work on a levelstretch of ground. I

Another object is the provision of a machine which will not only work ona hillside, but which will also deposit all of the dirt at the lowerside thereof, whereby the lower side of the ditch will be given anembankment sufficient to insure a ditch or trench of the desired depthand capacity.

A further object is to provide a machine of this kind that may bereversed to throw the dirt either tothe right or the left, thus makingit possible to work from a hill sloping in one direction to ahillsloping in the opposite direction,"without turning the machine around.

To the foregoing and other useful ends, my invention conslsts in mattershereinafter 'set forth and claimed In the accompanying drawings Figure 1is a rear elevation of an excavating machlne em'bodylng the princlplesofmy invention,

showing the method ofusing the same for hill-side work.

Fig. 2'is aside elevation of saidmachine, partly 1n section, the sectionI being taken on line 22 in Fig. 1, looking in 'the'direction indicatedby the arrows, showing the method'by which the machine cuts or worksdown into the hill-side to the desired depth, advancing step by step andthrowing all the dirt down hill, thus forming an em bankment on thedownhill side of the ditch, as shown in Fig. 1. I r

As thus illustrated, my invention comprises a suitable body A mounted ontrucks B of any suitable, known or approved character. its forward endthe said body is provided with an upright fr'ame .0 provided at itsupper end with sheaves c, A

vertically sliding frame'Dis supported and guided in its up and downmovements'by the frame C, and provided with sheaves d,

whiclr latter are preferably se'tlwith their common'aXis of rotation.extending hori- 'zontally atright angles to the separate and The frameclined positions by stay rods 6 and 6';

Sprocket wheels F and F are mounted respectively on the upper ends ofthe run-ways E and E, which latter project upwardly and outwardly fromthe opposite sides of the .movable frame D, tlbeing observed that therun-way E is preferably longer than the other. An endless link. belt Gris trained 7 over the sprockets F and F and under the sprockets cZ-d,and is provided on its face or outer side with cutters g which act onthe face of the cut to giveclearance for thelbelt,

as shown in Fig. 2.1 Said belt isalso provided with blades 9' that areso disposed thereon as to enable them collectively to 0perate on thegroundfor the'full width of the belt, although each blade is narrowerthan the belt. Sufficient slack is provided in the belt to enablethes'arne 'to rest'on thee rolls d d the lower outer portions of thechain beinghelddown to its work bythe run-ways E and E, and atitsniidolle by I the lower cross run-way H that connects the two sidesof the frame D., It will also be seen that the frame C has side membersthat 1.

serve asiguides for the frameD, and that have lower end portions c'-that reach down below the body A sufiiciently toenable the excavatingbelt to fall tovthe level of the bottom of the ditch, as shown in Fig.2. A pair of frames Lone at each side of the machine, connects the end"frame (3 withthe rear of the body A, thus insuring a strong and rigidstructure for holding the excavating belt and its supporting frame in anup rightjposition w i Shea-yes J are prov ded on the floor of the bodyA, and a hoisting and lowering cable K is arranged to run on all of saidsheaves, said cable being connected with the drum is operated at therear of the body of the en gine is. At one side of the machine thesprocket wheel d has its journal or shaft provided with a gear wheel Lthat meshes with a pinion Z on a shaft Z journaled in bearings on theframe I). This gearing constitutes a means for operating the belt whileit is moving bodily downward. A tumbling rod M connects the shaft Z withsuitable gearing m operated by said engine, said rod having the usualtelescoping connection m permitting the frame D to move up and down,whereby the requisite power is transmitted from the engine to run theexcavatdirt in the opposite direction.

ing belt while thelatter is slowly settling or moving down, Of course,though, any suitable or well known operating connection may be employedfor driving the belt.v A boiler N disposed on the rear end of the body Afurnishes the stream for the said engine.

In operation, the excavating belt is hoisted by the cable K and thenallowed to rest on the ground with the run-way E extending down hill andthe run-way E extending up hill. The belt is then driven in thedirection of the arrows, with the result that the dirt is torn up andconveyed across the path of travel of the machine to the downhill sideand there discharged to make an embankment for the lower side of theditch. As shown in Fig. l, the belt is working downward, and willcontinue to do so until it reaches the line X, which latter representsthe. outline of the ditch in cross section, while the line Y representsthe slope or incline of'the hill side upon which the machine is working.As soon as the excavator belt has cut its way down to the level of thefloor or bottomof the. ditch, then the belt is'hoisted above the ground,the machine is moved forward a distance equal to the width of the belt,and then the latter is again started on its downward course. Thus theditch ismade by a stepby-step movement .of the machine in the directiondesired'therefor, the two banks being flaring in cross section, and thegreater length of the belt on the up-hill side insuring a bank that issmooth and sloping from top to bottom. The run-ways E and E and thesupports 6 and e are made adjustable, as by adding or taking outsectionsthereof, so that the longer run-way-can be made shorter and the shorterrun-way made longer, thus reversing the conditions shown in thedrawings. The belt G can then be taken off and reversed, so as to carrythe With this provision, therefore, the machine can be reversed to throwthe dirt to the opposite side,

depending on the requirements of th work. F or example, when the machinepasses from one hill side to another having the opposite slope, then thedirt must be thrown to the other side of the machine, and this can beaccomplished in the manner explained. Thus the machine can work aheadfrom hillside to hill-side without the necessity of turning aroundwhenever it passes from one extending upward at the right to oneextending upward at the left. And in this way side-hill ditchin isaccomplished with a considerable saving of time and money.

hat I claim as my invention is 1. An excavating machine for makingditches on hill sides, comprising an endless series of-digging bucketsextending transversely of the ditch, runways on which said bucketstravel, disposed in position to form a ditch with flat bottom andsloping sides, means for bodily raising and lowering said runways andseries of buckets, to form the ditch by a succession of downward cuts, abody having said means supported on its forward end, means forcontinuously operating said buckets from the upper to the lower side ofthe ditch, to form a spoil bank at the lower side of the ditch, andmeans whereby said body travels on the bottom of the ditch in rear ofsaid buckets, each bucket discharging at the lower side of the ditch thedirt carried from the upper side-thereof.

2. An excavating machine for making ditches on hill sides, comprising anendless series of digging buckets extending transversely of the ditch,runways on which said buckets travel, disposed in position to form aditch with flat bottom and sloping sides, means for bodily raising andlowering said runways and series of buckets, to form the ditch by asuccession of downward cuts, a body having said means supported on itsforward end, means for continuously operating said buckets from theupper to the lower side of the ditch, to form a spoil bank at the lowerside of the ditch, and means whereby said body travels on the bottom ofthe ditch in rear of said buckets, each bucket discharging at the lowerside of the ditch the dirt carried from the upper side thereof, therunway at the upper being longer than the one at the lower side.

3. An excavating machine for making ditches on hill sides, comprising anendless series of digging buckets extending transversely of the ditch,runways on which said bucketstravel, disposed in position to form aditch with fiat bottom and sloping sides, means .for bodily raising andlowering said runways and series of buckets, to form the ditch by asuccession of downward cuts, a body having said means supported on itsforward end, means forcontinuously operating said buckets from the upperto the lower side of the ditch, to form a spoil bank atthe. ingprovision for permitting said up and 10 lower side of the ditch, andmeans whereby down movement of the runways and buckets. said bodytravels on the bottom of the ditch Signed by me at Chicago, Illinois,this in rear of said buckets, each bucket dis- 22nd day of August 1908.g I charging at the lower side of the ditch the dirt carried from theupper side thereof, MORTON BUNNELL said runways having sprocket wheelsfor Witnesses: said series of buckets, means for driving one C. E.TAYLOR, of said wheels to operate said buckets hav- ELLEN CLEGG.

Co ies of this patent may he obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. v

